Students at McNally Smith College of Music explore a broad curriculum, pursuing a well-rounded education in all areas of music with a creative approach toward musical artistry and leadership. Learn more »

Institutional Scholarships

McNally Smith College of Music awards an average of $1 million dollars in scholarships and grants each year to incoming and returning students. Depending on the type of scholarship, students may receive a tuition discount of 20% – 60%. To be eligible for any scholarships students must first:

IMPORTANT: Full time students receive priority consideration and are awarded the maximum scholarship amount available. Part time students are also eligible, but award amounts are adjusted downward based on how many credits are taken per semester.

McNally Smith offers the following institutional scholarships:

Premier Scholarships

Merit-based Premier Scholarships are awarded to incoming and returning students who show outstanding promise in their chosen area of study (performance, engineering, composition, business, etc.). McNally Smith College of Music awards scholarships to students who:

Demonstrate exceptional musical, creative or technical excellence through an audition, submitted demos, work samples, or other application requirements;

Demonstrate ambition and commitment toward achieving excellence through references, the application essay, or their record of extracurricular activities and accomplishments; and

Demonstrate high academic standards, which may be reflected in grade transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, or other measures of academic success.

Conclave Music Business Scholarship

The merit-based Conclave Music Business Scholarship is presented to an outstanding McNally Smith College of Music Business student each academic year, and includes tuition and a stipend to attend the Conclave Learning Conference in July.

This scholarship is presented in partnership with The Conclave and automatically renews every semester as long as the recipient achieves a GPA of 3.0 or better and enrolls full-time for up to eight semesters. Recipients receive a 30–60% tuition discount (room and board, books, and course materials are not included).

All students who apply for a Music Business Premier Scholarship are also be considered for the Conclave Music Business Scholarship.

Academic Achievement Scholarships

Academic Achievement Scholarships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance. These scholarships are only available to returning students who are not already receiving a Premier Scholarship. Academic Achievement Scholarships do not require an application, and awards for the upcoming Fall semester are determined after previous Spring semester grades are posted. Students are issued awards automatically based on GPA. There are three tiers of this award:

DiamondDiamond Scholarships ($3,000 per year) are awarded to students with the 1st – 10th highest cumulative GPAs (generally above a 3.9 cumulative GPA) at the College.

PlatinumPlatinum Scholarships ($2,000 per year) are awarded to students with the 11th -20th highest cumulative GPAs (generally above a 3.8 cumulative GPA) at the College.

GoldGold Scholarships ($1,000 per year) are awarded to students with the next 21st – 30th highest cumulative GPAs (generally above a 3.7 cumulative GPA) at the College.

Questions About Scholarship Eligibility?

New students please contact your Admissions Representative or inquire with the Admissions Office.